Re: I hate the SEC, let's do this Clemson!***

Great! Dabo & Bowden always do well against tough OLs & DLs!

[4]
Posted: Dec 3, 2012 12:21 AM

LSU's D is better than SCar's D, so I think it's going to be tough sledding for our offense. LSU's offense isn't great so maybe our defense can do OK with a month to prepare. But I guess we'll be heavy underdogs.

Dabo is 0-6 against non-con AP Top 25 final poll, so history isn't with us, but this will be a nice opportunity for Dabo to show that Clemson can get over the hump and actually beat a good, nationally respected team (rather than just beating up on ACC weaklings & non-AQ cupcakes).

There's no shame in losing to a great team like LSU but it would be the most hollow 10-win season in history if Clemson lost to the only 3 good teams that it played.

Unfortunately, times have changed. SCAR hired a national championship, HOF coach that we could have hired. They are for real. Clemson is a pretender that hasn't beaten a Top 25 Final Poll team since the 2004 Peach Bowl.

Re: First you have to have the opportunity to play them.

Re: Dalton Freeman was almost right when he said...

Posted: Dec 3, 2012 9:00 AM

We do need to start beating these type programs, but to beat them, we first must play them. These match ups show us where we really are as a program, and playing them more regularly does a lot to make our program a better one, because it really exposes our weaknesses. Playing scar once a year doesn't give as much a real indication as if we played that competition regularly, IMO, although it does show the improvement in their program on the field.

Re: Dalton Freeman was almost right when he said...

[1]
Posted: Dec 3, 2012 9:16 AM

.... you have to beat them eventually

Razz (and many of us) need patience. Dabo is building something. And losing to the three best teams we've faced isn't "hallow." It's acceptable as long as we're improving. Only a negative, cynical coot would say that beating all ACC teams by double the margin we beat them last year is is not improvement. Once we recruit and build up some tougher linemen, Dabo will have this team in a better place to actually win these types of games.

Improvement? We beat ONE AQ-team (NCSU) with winning record

And even at that it was a crappy (7-5) NCSU team that gotLast season Clemson won 6 games against AQ teams with winning records.

So how does it show improvement because this year Clemson beat weaker teams by a higher margin? That's nonsense.

Yeah, yeah, "Once we recruit and build up some tougher linemen, Dabo will have this team in a better place..." I heard the same thing for a decade under Bowden (several years of which Dabo saw first hand). It's not like Dabo took over the helm last season. We're 4-1/2 years into Dabo's HC tenure and the soft-linemen problem continues to plague Clemson. Batson still has his job. Our OL continues to get pushed around by smaller guys. But it's all going to change "next year" because Dabo (like Bowden for a decade before him) is building a program.

Re: Improvement? We beat ONE AQ-team (NCSU) with winning record

Posted: Dec 3, 2012 10:21 PM

You are absolutely right. We are a soft, relatively weak team. And still Dabo supports Batson. Go figure. I think Dabo is a fine man, but I think the jury is stil out regarding how good a coach he is. I think the current culture at Clemson is soft and permissive.

Welp...

Posted: Dec 3, 2012 1:38 AM

Time to put up or shut up, with our offense if we don't get crazy aggressive with the lead like vs scar I bet we beat em...if we start doing drop back passes and long developing plays when we are getting 5 yards a carry from our rb's it will be a looooong off season...

This year was a 180 degree turn from last year even though

It proves we can beat everybody we were supposed to beat and beat them soundly. In past years this has not been the case.

It's just a fact that as long as we're faced with playing Ball State, Wake, NCSU, Duke, etc., all we can do is line up and beat them. If they make us work to beat them, then maybe we can say we have a problem, but when we beat all of them by and average of 14 points, then we've done all we can do.

We lost a couple of games we were not totally expected to win. This just proves that when we face teams that are better than we are ... we might lose to them simply because they were just better teams.

We all want more ... we want to win them all ... to me, this season just proves we're getting there (albiet slowly.)

Re: This year was a 180 degree turn from last year even though

Posted: Dec 3, 2012 9:42 AM

I do like the consistency. It was always frustrating to beat a good team, then turn right around a lose to a Duke or a Maryland...

Bring on the D recruits so Venables has something to work with before The Chad takes a head coaching job somewhere. Once we get it clicking on both sides of the ball, we'll be unstoppable. Until then, we'll keep losing to teams who can play keepaway.

I hope our boys are hittin the weight room hard and getting ready for a physical game. And for Christ's sake, learn how to tackle.

Re: This year was a 180 degree turn from last year even though

Posted: Dec 3, 2012 11:09 PM

Good post. We do need to revaamp our S&C program, and this means leting go of Batson. We have to get back to beef and raw strength. That's how Danny won with "2 stas" players year after year. Dabo.in my opinion, is soft and overly-indulgent with the players. Hate to say it, but I think this will be proved out dramaticaly when LSU crushes us in the bowl game.

YAWN!***

Re: This year was a 180 degree turn from last year even though

Posted: Dec 4, 2012 10:14 PM

You don't learn how to tackle in the weight room. You learn it on the practice field. We should be going number one O against number one D every day in practice. How else can we learn and get tough? So what if we hurt a few people. The one's left will be SEC tough!

Re: If Clemson doesn't win this game

Posted: Dec 3, 2012 10:53 PM

He can't create hours in the weight room that haven't occurred. The strength and size that come from long hours humping iron and running wind sprints hasn't been done. It's too late, folks. Weak and permissive culture at Clemson continues.

We get to see the younger Rivers in action.

Posted: Dec 3, 2012 10:57 AM

I grew up with the Rivers family in Athens, Alabama. Philip Rivers was much older, but his younger brother Steven was in my class. We were best friends for years, but he is the 2nd string QB at LSU. Can't wait to see him in action.

Does he have a kid?***

Crap or get off commode

[1]
Posted: Dec 3, 2012 11:45 AM

I hope we: - find physical football players on defense, if you are going to get beat don't do it arm tackling and pushing QBs down on free shots - Morris spends more time on game plan that does include our opponents strengths/weaknesses than interviewing for other jobs - Dabo watches plenty of film on LSU and picks up how LSU creates an attitude like we had in 80s. - LSU watches film on us and thinks cupcake and then tells twitter and their local media all about how soft we look and how soft ACC is. It can then post here and everywhere and see if our team will respond on the field.

We need a win like this, and if we don't win we need to earn some respect for our program.

**Note - pls dont punt in a 2 poss game with 4 min left***

Re: Crap or get off commode

Posted: Dec 3, 2012 11:31 PM

I echo your sentiments,but really doubt that Dabo can or will comprehend what he is facing. Our Ol will be overpowered, thus giving Tagh little or no time to effectively pass. Our OL is at best average, and we don't have a power back to run north and south to keep them honest. Our Dl is average, and our secondary is patehtic. I Dont aee any way that we even keep this one close. Hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so.